G203 Historical Geology                                           Spring 2010 CRN #22202/22460
Portland Community College Rock Creek Campus

Time & Place:              M & W  9:00 am-11:50 pm; RC 7-227          
Instructor:                   Dr. Eriks M. Puris
Contact Info:              email: eriks.puris@pcc.edu     ph: (503) 614-7627
Office Hours:              M 1:00 -3:00 pm, F 1:00-3:00 pm and by arrangement; 7-202
Tutoring Hour:            M 4:00-5 pm; 2-212
Class Web Site:           http://www.pcc.edu/staff/eriks.puris
Required Texts:           Geology: An Introduction to Physical Geology with additional content by
                                   Chernicoff & Whitney (custom PCC ed.)
                                   Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology Ed. by R. Busch (8^th ed.)
Text Web Sites:           http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_chernicoff_geology_4/
                                   http://wps.prenhall.com/esm_busch_labmanual_8/
Admin. Assistant:       Sheryl Butler is a wonderful administrative assistant who can help you if you have
                                 difficulties reaching me or have general questions. Sheryl works in 7-202; 
                                  sheryl.butler@pcc.edu ,  (503) 614-7500.

The Earth has a history; the landscape we see around us did not form all at once, but rather it has been built up and sculpted by a sequence of geologic events including periods of uplift and subsidence, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, erosion and deposition. Furthermore the bed rock which under lays the landscape is itself the result of an even older sequence of geologic events including periods of uplift and subsidence, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, erosion and deposition. In this course we will learn how rocks record this older sequence of geologic events and how the careful study of rocks can allow geologists to reconstruct the story of the geologic past.  This will lead us to discover “deep time” as well as the past geographies, climates and ecosystems of our home, the planet Earth.

Catalog Description G203 Historical Geology 4.0 Cr.- Introduces historical geology which deals with geologic time, fossils, stratigraphic principles, and the geologic history of the North American continent. Fee: 12$. No prerequisites.

G203 is part of a three course group (G201, G202, G203) which explores the geology of our home planet, the Earth.  These courses have no prerequisites and have been designed to function independently of each other so that they can be taken in any order. All of these courses include a laboratory component.

Each course concentrates on different aspects of the earth system:

            G201- explores earth materials and the Earth’s internal processes

            G202- explores the landscape and the Earth’s external processes

            G203- investigates the geologic history of our planet, the Earth.

Grading Policies

COURSE GRADE     10% Activities + 25% Labs + 15% Projects + 50% Tests

TO CALCULATE COURSE GRADE

   _____________    +    ________   +    _______      +   _______   =   _______
        activity avg.                lab avg.           project avg.         test avg.      100 possible
        (w/o low)                (w/o low)                                   

GRADING SCALE  100-90% =A  90-80% =B  80-70% =C  70-60% =D  below 60% =F

Borderline cases (within 1% of border) will be decided on the basis of effort, attitude and improvement.

LATE WORK In class work is due at the end of class and can not be made up. Take home work will be marked down 10% each class period it is late.

MAKE UPS No make ups on activities and labs!  However, I will drop your lowest activity grade and your lowest lab grade. Tests can not be made up after they have been returned to the class, which typically is the next class period after the test. If you know ahead of time that you will be absent for a lab or test please talk to me as soon as possible, it may be possible to schedule an alternative time which is prior to the scheduled time.

EXTRA CREDIT No extra credit.

INCOMPLETES  I do not encourage incompletes. Please contact me outside of class if you feel you need to pursue this option.     

ADD/DROP POLICY

1. Students who miss 50% or more of the first week of classes without contacting the instructor may be dropped to add wait list students.
2. It is the student’s responsibility to drop the class if they stop attending.

IMPORTANT DATES

4/09     End of Second Week                Last day to drop with a refund.
4/23     End of Fourth Week                 Last day to drop with out a W.
5/21     End of Eighth Week                 Last day to withdraw with a W or request a P/NP grade.

Course Components

Reading Completing the assigned readings before coming to class is the first step to doing well in this course. Reading a science textbook is not like reading a novel, newspaper or humanities text.  I will work on helping you develop this skill by stressing the importance of figures, diagrams, and maps.

Lectures Lectures will expand upon the readings and will cover some material not covered in the text. I will spend a lot of time discussing figures, maps, and diagrams from your text; take note of the figure numbers and expect questions about figures to show up on tests. I recommend reviewing your notes after each class while your memory is still fresh. When reviewing your notes expand, annotate and add headings so that they make sense to you. I will review the previous lecture at the beginning of each class; this is a good time to check your notes and to ask questions. Please ask questions at any time during lectures! 

Activities There will be frequent activities to help develop your understanding of the class material.  Activities will include in class questions and activities as well as take home activities.  Some activities will be completed in groups, some individually.  Each activity is worth 10 points.  I will drop your lowest activity grade.  There will be two ‘you choose’ activities for which you will write a review of a geology article, talk or fieldtrip of your choice. For more information on ‘you choose’ activities see the class website.

Laboratories Labs will give you experience working with fossils, rocks, and maps. Lab exercises are designed to be completed during class and will be due at the end of class. Please bring a pencil for lab, also a ruler and calculator if you have them. Each lab is worth 25 points. Please no food in lab! I will drop your lowest lab grade.

 Projects There will be two projects for this class.  The first will be the Geologic History of the Oregon Coast Project, for this project you project you will have the option of either writing a short research paper or attending a one day field trip and completing a field trip write up. The field trip will be either Saturday 5/1 or Sunday 5/2 (date to be determined by which allows more student to attend the trip). For the second project you will have the opportunity to investigate a fossil organism of your own choosing and report your findings to the class in the form of a poster and a written abstract (2 pages: 1 page text + 1 page references). You can work on this singly or in pairs, your choice! More details after the first test. Each project is worth 15 points.

Tests Tests will cover material from the reading, lectures, activities and labs. A variety of question types will be used for the tests including; multiple choice, fill in the blank, labeling, sketching, brief response questions, and essay questions. There will be three 50 minute tests.  The final test will not be cumulative, however the course material will naturally build upon itself and concepts developed early in the class will be used later in the class. Each test is worth 50 points.

Course Policies
We are here to learn and to enjoy the processes of learning; the following policies are designed to create a positive and safe learning environment for all of us where we can succeed in learning together.

Class Room Environment  I expect you to respect the right of your fellow classmates to a positive learning environment. Any behavior which diminishes your classmates’ learning experience is inappropriate; this includes acting disrespectfully towards your classmates, as well as disrupting class by arriving late or leaving early, talking out of turn and allowing your electronics to emit sounds.

Missing Class  Regular attendance is expected and is important to your success in this class. If you miss a class it is your responsibility to get class notes and handouts from your fellow classmates.  I will not be grading directly based on attendance, however you will be handing in work to be graded almost every class session. Students who miss more than 10% of the class (which is 2 class periods) should expect their absences to negatively impact their course grade. I will be taking roll the first few weeks to learn your names, after that it is up to you!

Academic Integrity Learning is your responsibility; nobody can do it for you. I expect you to approach learning with self honesty and integrity so that you gain the greatest benefit from your hard work. The PCC academic integrity policy states it this way, “To falsify or fabricate the results of one’s research; to present words, ideas, data or work of another as one’s own; or to cheat on an examination corrupts the essential process of higher education” Academic dishonesty may result in a grade of an F on the assignment and will be reported to the division dean. For further information consult the Student Rights and Responsibilities policies at : http://www.pcc.edu/about/policy/student-rights/ .

Special Concerns  I encourage students with special concerns or needs to meet with me outside of class so that we can work together to create a positive learning experience. PCC is committed to supporting all students.  If you have a disability and need an accommodation, please make arrangements to meet with me outside of class. PCC students requesting accommodations must provide documentation of disability and work with The Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) at 977-4341.

Flexibility Statement  Please keep in mind that the course calendar along with test and lab dates may change in response to changing conditions and class needs.

A Note about the Texts

We are using a custom text for this course.  The advantage of using a custom text is that the same text can be used for all three courses in the cluster (i.e. G201, G202 and G203).

The custom text consists of:

1)      The entire contents of Geology: An Introduction to Physical Geology by Chernicoff & Whitney (4^th ed.)

2)      Chapters 19 through 26 of Earth: Geologic Principles and History by Chernicoff, Fox & Tanner

If you prefer you can purchase these two texts separately, Chernicoff, Fox & Tanner is out of print but used copies are available on the internet.

The lab manual for this course is Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology edited by Busch (8^th ed.) and it is also used in all three courses in the cluster (i.e. G201, G202 and G203).

Please let me know what you think of these texts! We are considering switching to a new text for fall 2010.